German Community in Lawrence

People of British ancestry settled the area that would become the City of Lawrence.  They were the first owners, supervisors, and shop keepers.  The Irish were the first immigrant group to follow starting out as laborers, moving up into city government and supervisory positions.  The next on the scene were French Canadian and Germans.  The Germans in particular came to the Merrimack Valley because many of them were already skilled in textile production.  They would eventually found churches, athletic, social, and literary organizations.  In this new acquisition shown here, Arthur Otto Wolf and Helene Minna Hilbert, show that they were wed June 8, 1910 at the German Presbyterian Church.

German-Lawrencians founded and attended three churches: the German Presbyterian Church, the German Methodist Episcopal Church, and Assumption Roman Catholic Church.   The community continued to keep their own culture through a variety of organizations: the German School and Turn Verein.